Opening Address by Mr. Tom Kitt, T.D., Minister for Labour, Trade and Consumer Affairs at the NISO Annual Conference“Health and Safety Challenges in a Changing World”on Friday 27th October, 2000.

Good morning Ladies and Gentlemen. I am very pleased to be back here in Galway once again for the NISO Annual Conference.

It is three years since I took over responsibility for occupational health and safety and in that time I have seen the issue of workplace health and safety become far more prominent and pertinent a business issue than ever before. At all levels - State, employer and worker profile - the awareness of workplace safety has, undoubtedly, increased enormously. The commitment by the State and the Social Partners to continue to seek to improve workplace health and safety standards is now underpinned in the national Programme itself, the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness. This is, indeed, a strong acknowledgement of the importance and relevance of the issue as a contributory factor to a better living and working environment for all our citizens, and I see from your conference brochure that you will be having a session this afternoon dedicated to the health and safety implications of the PPF. Without a doubt workplace health and safety is now part of the public psyche and one of the main challenges facing all of us is how to translate awareness into real action at the level of the workplace.

We have, of course, made progress in many areas including the Construction Safety Partnership and I know that Frank Cunneen, Chairman of the Health and Safety Authority, will go into specifics in his own presentation later to-day, but I would say that we must always put progress into perspective. Irish workplace accident and fatality rates are remaining stubbornly high, especially in the farming and construction sectors.

In 1999 there were 69 workplace fatalities reported to the Authority, while so far this year, 52 workplace fatalities have been reported. Against this fact, we must also acknowledge that we now have 1.7m people in employment, we have an increasingly mobile, highly-educated and sophisticated labour force operating against a variety of work patterns and we also have changing demographics and diverse cultural aspects affecting the composition of our labour force. There is, indeed, a changing world of work in Ireland to-day to which we must adapt at both national and individual level.

As many of you will be aware, this week was designated European Week for Safety and Health at Work by the European Commission and I know that the Health and Safety Authority, various employer and employee representative bodies as well as indvidual companies organised a range of events to coincide with the week. I had the pleasure of attending many of these events myself and I am always impressed by the enthusiasm and commitment displayed by individual workers and managers towards promoting and creating a safer working environment within their own place of work. For a health and safety regime to really work it cannot be purely a State or management imposed regime - everybody must buy into it.

The Health and Safety Authority for its part, is endeavouring to ensure that all practicable steps are being taken to improve safety. The additional staff and financial resources which I sanctioned earlier this year on behalf of the Authority, have strengthened its hand in attaining the objectives set out in its extensive Programme of Work. In particular, they have allowed the Authority to significantly increase the rate of construction site inspections. They have also allowed the Authority to launch a major safety awareness campaign, which includes an effective focus on the high-risk agriculture and construction sectors. I have no doubt that this campaign will further raise the profile of health and safety issues, and, in the longer-term, help to bring about a fundamental and permanent change of attitudes, perceptions and cultures.

For my part, I will continue to support the work of the Authority, and to work on its behalf, to maximise available resources. I can also assure you of my ongoing commitment to best practice and procedures to underpin workplace health and safety, and that is why, in the light of the Authority’s first ten years in operation, I initiated the review of the 1989, Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act. This review, which I understand is nearing completion, will ensure that this framework legislation remains relevant and effective in the light of the new health and safety challenges which you all will be looking at during the course of this conference. Most of you will also be aware that I set up a Task Force on the Prevention of Workplace Bullying and this Task Force, which has representation from the main State Agencies as well as the Social Partners, is nearing completion of its work and the Chairman of the Task Force has advised me that the report will be available in the new year.

I began by speaking about awareness of health and safety and I must say that the safety awards, which I had the pleasure of presenting last night, brought home to me the level of awareness that does exist out there and that can be built upon. Experts tell us that competitions and awards for standards in health and safety can have a clear commercial benefit and improve business. In research carried out by the UK Health and Safety Executive, it was shown that health and safety award schemes help to stimulate further activity in the area of workplace health and safety. This is a perfect example of translating awareness into action and it is one of the reasons why I value so highly the NISO/NISG Awards which are a showcase for organisations of all types and sizes to show their commitment to providing a safe workplace. In addition, I am confident too that the Millennium Awards Scheme, which I introduced in January of this year and which I presented last night for the first time, will also have a valuable contribution to make to the improvement of overall workplace health and safety standards.

Organisations like NISO have a hugely important and complementary role to play. I know that you will all agree with me when I say without hesitation that NISO has, as a well-established safety organisation, played a crucial part in improving health and safety standards in very many Irish workplaces down through the years. Through its activities has helped to develop a safety culture amongst a range of employers and employees.

This Annual Conference is well-established as one of the most prestigious events in the Irish Health and Safety calendar, and I am delighted to be associated with it. It provides an excellent forum for employers, employees and the public to learn about the many positive developments and trains of thought which are taking place in the field of occupational health and safety in Ireland.

As one has come to expect, NISO has once again put together a Conference programme which will generate an informative and relevant debate. This Programme has captured all the varying elements, from the practical to the psycho-social, that must be addressed if we are to provide a safe and healthy working environment from both a short-term and long-term perspective for our expanding working population. Ensuring the physical safety of people must be accompanied by ensuring their psychological safety - stress, violence and bullying within the workplace must be controlled and managed to the same extent as the more visible hazards. We must also broaden our perception of who should be afforded proper health and safety protection. We regularly speak in terms of workers and employees, but we must also encourage the self-employed and others who work primarily on their own to take due cognisance of their health and safety. Health and Safety must be addressed even in the complexities of all modern-day employment arrangements.

Thank you and good luck in your deliberations to-day.